Canada suspends citizenship certificates issued under 'lost Canadians' law
Government orders return of thousands of certificates pending review; new citizens report lost jobs, canceled moves.
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The federal government has suddenly suspended Canadian citizenship certificates issued to thousands of people around the world who became eligible for citizenship late last year under a change to the "lost Canadians" law.
In a notice emailed Saturday to an unknown number of successful applicants, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ordered them to return their certificates pending a review of their files.
"The purpose of this letter is to inform you that I have information in my possession that indicates that you may not be entitled to hold a Canadian certificate of citizenship," wrote Peggy Sun, registrar of Canadian citizenship, in what appears to be a form letter.
The letters don't provide reasoning for the move beyond citing potential problems with documentation not being from original source authorities. "As this documentation was not submitted with your proof of citizenship application, I am requiring the surrender of your certificate of citizenship," Sun wrote, adding that recipients will have an opportunity to submit additional evidence and their certificates will be returned if the review finds them eligible.
Immigration lawyers say it appears to be a mass suspension, though just how many have been suspended remains unknown. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has yet to respond to questions about the scope or timing of the review.
Many recipients are in shock. Valerie Campbell of Bucksport, Maine, and her son Morgan received their citizenship certificates in March based on family roots in Quebec and Ontario. Campbell, a licensed mental health counsellor, said she had put her home up for sale, begun packing, and started planning a move to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia.
"It was a complete and total shock, I had no idea this was coming, that there were any problems at all," Campbell said. "I went into a blind panic. I didn't know what to do."
Campbell said she wanted to move to Canada for a long time, but "it no longer feels safe to be in America, especially as a woman or if you're on the spectrum or you're a person of colour."
Now she plans to put her house sale on hold and "go through every bit of information I have" to provide the records the government wants.